Music
Press
'Neo-Brecht/Weill theatricality? Check. Profane razor strop wit? Check. Irreverent misanthropy? Check. Scathing socio-cultural critiques? Check. Acid sweet indiepop songcraft? Check. Meet the first Great band of 2006, the fabulously unfashionable, unfashionably fabulous Indelicates.' - Rollingstone.com
In March 2006, the NME reviewed the band in it’s Radar section calling their songs ‘stunning’ and pointing out that they ‘share their sharp wit and social commentary with 90s brainiacs Black Box Recorder, but soften it with a spoonful of Belle & Sebastian’s twee-yet-epic ensemble indie’. - NME
Jetzt, in Germany, claimed: ‘Medienkritik, Zynismus, Nihilismus und schöne Musik kommen hier vortrefflich zusammen. Und auch die weiteren downloadbaren Lieder der Indelicates, übrigens aktuelle Lieblingsband des Art-Brut-Sängers Eddie Argos, kann man sich zu Gemüte führen.’ - JETZT.DE
In February the New Statesman featured an article about the band: ‘I long for the day when it's not necessary to comment, as if surprised, that a band is intelligent, but for now The Indelicates are, and this is highly refreshing - The most exciting of the MP3s on [their] site is "We Hate the Kids", a cynical, disaffected lo-fi anthem - "I wanted to believe in rock'n'roll stars/I wanted to believe in contemporary art" must be couplet of the year so far - that features a gripping duet by the vocalists, Simon and Julia Indelicate, over piano, bass and eventually a crudely filtered electric guitar ... "Pop had a beginning, it grew and was tended/Now it is rotten. Let it be ended," they conclude. Thankfully, not all of it seems to be rotten.’ - The New Statesman
Who are they?
Simon and Julia - the Indelicates - are political-punk musos attempting to bring the poetry back into pop. Simon was a performance artist and Julia a documentary photographer when they met at a poetry slam two years ago and decided to make sweet music together.
What do they sound like?
Julia's keyboard smashing recalls a more restrained Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls, but their sound is unmistakably English, drawing on the dons of the British scene, Morrissey and Luke Haines, and with frank yet florid lyrics worthy of Billy Bragg.
Lyrical show-offs then, eh?
They may be a bit clever-clever, but with MAs coming out of their ears, they've got every right to be. Their songs cover everything from Hitler's dodgy concubine to Che Guevara cap-sporting students who think they are about to lead the revolution - they even manage to fit in a Harold Macmillan quote.
She looks a bit familiar ...
Julia was a founding member of polka-dotted, doo-wopping girl group the Pipettes, but left and was replaced by a Princess Diana lookalike just before they hit the medium-time.
Where can I hear them?
Their single Julia, We Don't Live in the Sixties is out now. Listen to other songs at www.myspace.com/theindelicates - The Guardian
Beautifully strong, piano-led harmonies, with a power-pop bouncy chorus of epic proportions. Punchy, yet ironically contradictory lyrics wallowing in the flagging, haggard, magnetism of scenes. Co-written by the front pairing of Julia (of Pipettes fame) and Simon… following a vein of youthful envy that courses through the entirety of the song, wrapped up in sparkling pop – with an infectious handclap break to end. - Artrocker Magazine
It’s impossible to overstate how much music today needs The Indelicates; in our darkest hour, hope may yet be at hand. - The Fly Magazine
(The First review of The Indelicates' debut Album)
I don’t know about you but I can’t tolerate music reviews which prattle on about things like the “zeitgeist” and “ennui” yet singularly fail to let the reader know if they actually liked a certain album, song or single. I also hate this modern habit of foisting genius or legendary status onto people, who quite frankly don’t deserve it, Bobby Davro is not a legend, Frank Skinner is not a genius, for F**k’s sakes, there’s even a “ Post Office Ken” myspace page, he of the highly irritating TV ads featuring those dreadful warbling Irish wooden heads from Westzone or Boyslife or whatever they’re called. People are actually leaving him messages! “Ken, you legend”, “Ken u iz da Biz”“Ken you genius”etc, etc -. No, No, NO! Have these miscreants had transorbital lobotomies? Ken is an annoying tool, a vacuous corporate marketing tool- a living legend or genius? - I think not. This sort of nonsense fills me with a sense of ennui and surely cannot reflect the zeitgeist?
But back to the subject in hand, is The Indelicates debut album “American Demo” any good? Well, I can say, hand on heart it really does deserve the accolade “ F**king genius.” At this early juncture it’s already a strong contender for album of 2008. I had of course expected something special given the quality of the singles that have been released and the demos that have been floating about online for a while, but this has exceeded my already high expectations by a country mile. In short The Indelicates have produced a stunning debut album that can be enjoyed on many levels and covers a myriad of issues. It’s the sound of a band really finding their voice. They’ve rarely sounded more assured and passionate, and to quote dear old Johnny Rotten they really do seem to “mean it, man.” “American Demo” does that rare thing in music these days and actually challenges the listener’s preconceptions about pop. I can happily report it’s not always a comfortable experience, for example “Unity Mitford” is a beautiful song, musically and lyrically (“Like Romeo and Juliet/In a bunker, shot through the head”) but hang on a minute, should I really find this song moving, after all isn’t this about one of Britain’s most notorious Nazi sympathisers. Yet here I am singing along like Doris Day baking apple pie with a tear in my eye, about the lady, who many believe may have had Hitler’s baby.
“New Art For The People” may initially seem to be a heart wrenching, darkly romantic tale of obsessive love, “And it’s so sad but they’re so glad/ that you’re so bad for me/The dark days ahead and the blood/ on the bed and the cover of the NME” But wait -there’s something else happening here too, it transpires it may actually be more about self importance, selfishness, single mindedness and self harm, an obsession with a new aesthetic and exploitation in the name of art - Yes, let us make this new art and change the world, except ….nothing really changes, the world remains indifferent.
“If Jeff Buckley Had Lived” is an evocative poetic slice of genius which deals with how Jeff Buckley may have been treated if he had not foolishly disregarded the Health and Safety Executive’s prudent advice -“No swimming in rivers wearing steel toe capped boots, whilst listening to Led Zeppelin” “If Jeff Buckley had lived/And his voice still was heard/On the weak second album /And difficult third” Indeed, would Jeff Buckley have been so revered in life as he is now in death, could he have sustained the promise and have earned the iconic status that has posthumously been bestowed upon him- or would he have suffered what is commonly known as “the back lash” “If Jeff Buckley had lived/He’d have been short on the throne/And counted his life out/In an old rockstar’s home”
The album also features the singles, “Sixteen,” “Julia, We Don’t Live in The 60’s” and fantastic reworkings of “The Last Significant Statement” and “We Hate The Kids” all of which seem to take on a new potency within the framework of an album rather than just merely being great tunes in isolation. There is also the new single “America” which could well be an alternative west end show stopper in a parallel universe, complete with dancing soldiers and marching bands. It knocks Bernstein’s and Sondheim’s song of the same name into the proverbial cocked hat.
“American Demo” is powerful, angry, funny (yes kids they do have a sense of humour) poignant, honest, thought provoking, at times incredibly moving, and utterly brilliant. At the end of the day (sporting cliché alert) what more can you ask for from pop music? The Indelicates tackle challenging subjects with a lightness of touch and a subtlety, which, at times, make the Manic Street Preachers tendency for heavy-handed overwrought bombast appear about as consequential as a 2 Unlimited single. They have certainly raised the stakes, and posed the question- can this album be bettered in 2008? –Or is “Everything that follows a footnote?” We shall see, purchase “American Demo,” you won’t be disappointed and of course you could well contribute towards making The Indelicates uncomfortably fashionable.
Phew! An Indelicates review that doesn’t mention the famous PD’s –Polka Dots or Pete Doherty, …Oh… erm…… …
“American Demo” By The Indelicates
Weekender Records
Release date 14th April 2008
Rating 10/10
- http://vonpipmusicalexpress.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/the-indelicates-american-demo-review/
Discography
Albums:
“American Demo” - Weekender Records - April 2008
SINGLES:
“We Hate The Kids” - Sad Gnome Records - July 2006
“Julia, We Don't Live in the '60s” - Weekender Records - July 2007
“Sixteen” - Weekender Records - October 2007
“America” - Weekender Records - due March 2008
EPs:
“The Last Significant Statement To Be Made In Rock’n’Roll” - Sad Gnome Records - February 2007
Photos
Bio
The Indelicates
Biography
Formed in late 2005, The Indelicates have rapidly been establishing themselves as one of the most exciting new bands to come out of the UK.
Essentially the joint project of Simon Indelicate (formerly a performance poet and author of ‘The Book Of Job: The Musical’ – due to be revived in 2008) and Julia Indelicate (an acclaimed documentary photographer) The Indelicates are a five piece, piano and guitar-led pop/rock act from Sussex, UK. Taking their musical cues from folk and classical sources - as well as the broad spectrum of British indie rock – they write melodic, edgy and intellectually coherent songs that have been consistently well-received in the UK and abroad.
Julia and Simon met at a Poetry slam (which he won) working together to perform and promote music, poetry, and the famous poets vs. mc's slams that characterised the Brighton 'scene'. Julia then went on to found The Pipettes, but left after a year and half to work instead on the rock/ punk music she and Simon had been writing. Rhythm guitarist Al makes damn good films, Drummer Ed can take apart your computer and put it back together so that it talks to you, and bassist Kate was bought off the internet.
They have performed live extensively playing more than 130 shows in London and the rest of England. They have also toured Germany and Austria 4 times, three times as a headline act and once as main support to Art Brut – playing six dates in 800+ capacity venues. They have headlined shows in such major european cities as Berlin, Rome and Paris.
They have released three singles and an EP which have been widely reviewed and given international radio play. They have just released an album for British/German indie label Weekender Records with producer Brian O’Shaugnessey (Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Denim) in the UK and Germany in April 2008, and in June the album was released in Japan via Rough Trade.
Represented by Kelly Maxwell at Stoked PR, they have been written about positively in the NME, the New Statesman, Artrocker, The Guardian, The Times, The Fly and other magazines. Internationally, they have been praised in Vanity Fair and Musik Express(Germany), Rolling Stone and Pitchfork(US), and widely on internet blogs and music sites.
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